[open] welcome to the masquerade

[implying]

Date & Time: Friday the 7th, 4pm to midnight.
Location: Palace of Versailles, France, 1772.
Characters: anyone! Even characters not yet accepted as of when this log goes up. 8)
Summary: It's just some fancy masquerade dance with spiked punch.
Warnings: here be pictures, slow connections beware.


Welcome to Versailles.

The decorations are arranged, the food is prepared and laid out, the music has been rehearsed, and... most people have their costumes and masks ready. At precisely 1600, the Transporter machine activates, and a full room of people and all of their decorations, food, musical instruments, and costumes are sent back to 1772. The Palace of Versailles is in the height of its splendor, the weather is perfect and cloudless, and the gardens are in full bloom for the spring.

➣ Explore the Palace

Holy shit look at this, you have the chance to get your grubby little fingers all over history before it even becomes properly history. Do you know how many famous butts sat in all these plush velvet chairs? Or are going to sit in these plush velvet chairs? And they were all probably just talking the hell out of French, too. Wow. Go invade some bedrooms, poke your head into the kitchens (but no more than that, or territorial cooking elves might take offense), just. Touch everything. Everything. Just know that where ever you are, there's no escaping that beautiful music your fellow Transports are inflicting on you, that shit's just echoing all over the place tonight.

➣ Admire the Gardens

Jeez look at this, these people just had way too much money. But you get to benefit from it! You can basically just get yourself lost for hours here, so try not to starve or anything. Meet all the statues, go streaking through the fountains (please don't, no one wants to see that), get lost and desperately burst through cute little trees in your increasingly frantic attempts to find the exit. There's all sorts of fun you can have!

Just don't wander too close to the edge of the grounds, or you'll encounter (run into?) the invisible forcefield set up to keep wandering guests from utterly ruining history. That's probably a good way to get yourself a bloody nose.

➣ Enjoy the Banquet

There's tables and tables of this finger-licking good finery here, and it's all for you. And can you believe how fancy it is? Oh my god, those sausages have adorable little spears through them. And those spoons gently cradling their cheesy goodness? Yeah. They're made of crackers. And don't even get me started on these desserts. This is amazing. You've never eaten this good. And naturally, each drink (some of which are spiked, you're welcome) has adorable little frozen flowers in the ice cubes. Who even comes up with this stuff? Elves, that's who.

[[ HEY LOOK: AN OVERFLOW LOG! You're not required to move your threads there, but you're welcome to, in case this entry is getting difficult to load for anyone! ]]

Comments

[biwinning]

[Arms crossed. Grump-grump.]

No. It'th horrible.

[gevurah]

[ Now this is a banquet, although Kate's not a picky eater herself. It came with having to learn to survive on snakes and insects in a desert, but it doesn't mean she doesn't enjoy good food when it's provided. Whatever that little egg-shaped dessert is? She's going to have herself one.

When she slips toward the table, she can't mask her amusement. ]

You're supposed to eat it.

[hostage]

Ain't that what I'm doing?

[Like, aside from checking her out. He's doing a lot of that, too.]

riku | kingdom hearts | open!

[limitstorm]

[ he doesn't really dress for the occasion of a party. he dresses for the occasion of being security, because fun, what's that? in his blue pinstripe vest and navy slacks, white dress shirt, and short hair loose around his face--he looks fairly normal.

well, except for those bat wings protruding from his back. they'll leave soon enough and aren't too obtrusive.

with a glance to the left, and a glance to the right, he slowly pulls out a hat he'd been hiding behind his back. 'Hats aren't supposed to be worn indoors' his foot. he plops it upon his head and smirks a little to himself, hands behind his back, as he watches people enjoy themselves.

better just stay low and quiet for now, unless something bad happens. he's set himself up near the entrance, leaning against the wall. ]

[allsongs]

Adam.

[his name comes in one of the notes as she moves, her direction shifting from the aimless wander to a familiar shape and sound. she remains in motion, driven by music and the joy of being in it.

she reaches out for his wrists to turn him with her, quite determined to not stand still for very long at all, smiling broadly.]

It is good to be here. It is good you are to be here. It is beautiful.

[stonewall]

[ Sorry, Lucy, even Snow has to laugh at that reaction. He shakes his head after a moment. ]

Don't worry about it. This whole thing's being taken care of by the guys in charge. [ And he has to give them credit for that. ] Besides, a bunch of us helped decorate, so it's as much our work as anything.

[ Snow a few streamers and balloons doesn't equal a giant grand palace... ]

[selfloyalty]

[She's been walking around with a glass of wine in hand when she notices Martin.

...when she notices Martin addressing her reflection. Her smile is amused though concealed, and instead of allowing the young boy to embarrass himself further, she approaches him.]

Yes?

[selfloyalty]

It makes you wonder if the king and queen have anything better to spend their money on.

[She's glad to see she isn't the only one to think this. Everyone else seemed too busy fawning over the palace.]

[deservinghell]

Henry wouldn't have put money on Chloe's appearance at the ball in the first place, but when he does spot her and she's seated at the bar at least a couple drinks deep, he wonders how he could have ever questioned this woman's resolve to get blitzed on the Initiative's dime.

Regardless of whatever else might be going on in her life right now, she'd already made it pretty clear that she expects the event to be about as fun as a root canal.

He's already ditched the mask when he pulls up to the table beside Chloe and slides a fresh drink into her hand.

[stonewall]

[ Snow's just looking to strike up conversation, so anyone on their own is fair game. Glancing around, he leans against the wall, keeping his huge frame out of any oncoming traffic. ]

So which part's your favorite? The palace is pretty impressive, but these are hard to beat. [ He holds up one of the desserts with a grin, apparently completely serious. ]

[biwinning]

[Hey, Roxy. What's up. Don't mind Sollux just sliding on up next to Roxy. He's kind of frowning, but more wants to hang out with her at the moment.]

[stonewall]

[ Because Tidus!! Snow's basically the same person though so he'll keep her company for a while. ]

Yeah, it's good. Looks like everyone's too busy having fun to cause any trouble. [ He glances around. ] But leave the worryin' to me. You've got a date on the way, right?

[hostage]

Hey, yo, what's up?

[Jesse recognizes this guy from earlier and remembers he's not an asshole, so the greeting is warm.]

Merlin, right?

Ohhh noo my heart <3

[totallytrustworthy]

Doesn't matter if he looks different (though with as much drink as she's had it does take her a good few seconds of staring to piece it all together) his voice is enough of a clue for her to follow. She does, through the haze of slight tipsiness, wonder briefly if the cut was intentional. If he just did it to add a touch more mystery to the whole affair...

Nah, probably not.

"Do they ever?" She asks offhandedly, turning her attention back to the bottom of her glass, trying to gauge how much effort it'll take to avoid sipping and just empty it all out in one go.

[payback]

[DON'T GO THERE JESSE. Don't do it! There are at least three concealed knives on her person (never leave home without 'em) and she's allergic to even a single iota of commitment. Casual sex counts.]

Well yeah. But there's a whole roomful of people. I think they're supposed to be the attraction just as much as, you know, being here. [She waves around.]

[rota]

[If she weren't so used to being mistaken for a boy (and actively went for that result in the past), Naoto would have spluttered or taken offense.

Instead, it's the second bit that gets her attention the most. Girlfriend? Really?]

It's not the latter, and since there's no girlfriend to stand me up, it is not the former either. [That voice? Is a lower pitch than other girls' but it's still undoubtedly female.]

[ninthserenade]

<sub>[Axel what did he tell you about sneaking up on him.

It doesn't take long for Demyx to figure out he's being watched, but he ended up shrugging it off as curiosity--he didn't know where to start as far as formal wear went, so he followed Axel's lead by showing up in the coat. So far, things were actually going fairly decent! Especially in one aspect.

All of this food.

It's a shame some of it would be wasted, because when Demyx turns around and sees Axel? He shrieks much like a five-year old girl and throws one of the sausages right at him.]</sub>

Light! D-Don't do that, you ass!

[fourcenturies]

[As Simmaeri turns him, he goes with the flow, moving with her, letting out a small laugh as he does so. That was...unexpected. At her statement, his smile softens slightly.

When Adam speaks, there's a sense of contentedness in his voice. This was his life, ages ago. Hell, he even was in France at around this time. He is getting hit with nostalgia and it shows.]

France is always beautiful this time of year, the Versailles especially so. I only managed to get in this building once or twice when I lived here-the parties at the time were so extravegent.

cries on violently

[flynninomite]

It's a bizarre mirror to their first encounter here - well, not here, but back in the future - when he approaches quietly at her back as she's getting another round. He leans over her shoulder, just as he had then, but this time it's more personal than invasive. Semantics, but there's a difference; probably the lack of bristling hostility on his end.

"Save some for the rest of us, will you? I haven't even had my first round yet."

Then there's a pause as he settles in at her side, takes a proper look at that drinks on offer, and when he speaks again he almost sounds genuinely concerned.

"Please tell me the beer's just stashed somewhere; under the tables, maybe?"

And when she spares him a glance, she'll find he's actually not dressed like a complete tool. Well, more of a classic tool, at least. The suit looks like it's roughly dated to the 40's, a single button done up casually over a black vest, black shirt, all set off with a red tie and white ascot in the breast pocket. And a black fedora, obviously. So yes, still a bit gangster, still a bit over-the-top, but at least it's got that historical appeal to it now.

[hostage]

[IT'S NOT A PARTY UNLESS JESSE GETS LAID. A man has to try.]

How come you ain't hanging back with the rest of 'em?

[totallytrustworthy]

"You know me too well."

Which is all she bothers to say before she sets to work on it like it's a bloody drinking competition. And while, yes, she's expressed discomfort with the affair on the whole, it's fairly clear there's more on her mind than not wanting to dance.

[biwinning]

[ It has, and he's aware as well. But Sollux was never a hugely "go-out-of-his-way to hang out with people" kind of person. So he's glad to see Jericho, definitely, but not upset it's been so long.]

Shit party, right?

[confiteri]

[ Her own comes just as quickly, returning with greeting without pause. ]

As do you, you look quite handsome.

[selfloyalty]

[She takes a cracker and is quiet as she snacks, looking out towards the other transports making merry.]

You do not know how to dance?

[No, of course he doesn't. Why would he?]

I highly doubt you would seriously endanger anyone here. [She finishes her cracker] Well, apart from the kitchen staff.

[payback]

I was. I'm going outside now. I want to explore. [A beat -] You can come along if you want.